The Weekend! Post Race Activities

Well, that's where the running part of the show ends. Keep in mind we still had a 40th birthday to celebrate!! Susan had planned for a chauffeur to take all of us to the local Irish Pub (Irish Lion) for a night of celebration. Along with my family, the Fraleys, long time friends Jan, Melissa and Jennifer were on hand from Lincoln, as well as Mary and Diane from Madison. From what I remember it was a HELL of a bash.

So, what's next??? Hmm, well see...

All the highlights from the weekend:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kmack.mack/TecumsehMarathon?authkey=pxbJwGJb1VQ#

The Weekend! THE DAY Saturday 12/6

6:15am: Whoooo hooooo its THE day! This was the text message I woke up to (after my alarm and back up alarm had not gone off...) Yes, it certainly was! There was a gentle snow starting and there was frantic activity going on in my head. But with relatively little commotion we got breakfast, ALL the required gear and piled in the RV for the days fun. After a 45 minute ride in the RV, Bridget, Mo and I piled in a school bus for another 50 minute ride to the start. By now the snow had been coming down for ~2 hours and no signs of stopping.

The race started at 10:20am (Eastern), and in a word it was INCREDIBLE. It started out very easy on a flat/straight dirt single lane road, but with in a couple miles it went to tight tree lined single track trail, which is what it would be for 90% of the marathon. The single track in itself was fine, but soon we realized that with the snow and the fact that of the 600 runners ~550 were in front of us, the single track became ice packed in various spots, especially on several down hill and up hill twists and turns. In those spots the runners would slow dramatically causing a traffic jam on the trail, but passing those areas slowly was in everyones best interest, and still didn't guarntee safe passage.

Looking back it seemed like the first 1/2 (~13.1 miles) went really fast, although clock time it had been > 3 hours. I was feeling good, but then we came upon Indian Hill, yeah I know it's just a hill! But cripes it's a BIG hill, one that as you keep turning corners, it's still going up, and after running 13 miles, it's a bit of an obstacle. Once we got over it though it was quickly forgotten, for one there would be other hills to climb!

There were also several ravines where you would have jump down 1-2 feet go through a small creek and then up the other side 2-3 feet. Again, this was after ~550 runners went first, making the ledges very icy. I would say with all the obstacles we were dealing with Mo and I actually did very well with staying up right. I will admit I did take my share of falls, but of course Mo still gets the award for the most memorable. Her's typically involved more of an audience and falls in immediate sequence when called for. Although I give her a lot of credit, after a couple down hill slick spots she just took the hill on her arse, before the hill put her on her arse. But seriously, we knew we were up against it when at one hill they strung rope up between the trees so that you could just pull yourself up ~30 yards of hill cause it was too slick/steep to take on foot.

But the moment I will remember most, is when we got to the aid station at mile 21, and although we had started 20 minutes late, per the "race rules" we needed to be to the 23 mile aid station by 4:30, else they would need to pull folks from the trail, since nightfall would be coming and the trails would become more treacherous. Up to that point we had been on a >16 minute mile pace, which would put us to the 23 mile cut off past 4:30. There was no conversation about the situation, and certainly no concern that after 21 miles on an icy trail that we wouldn't make it. With Mo in the lead we headed out for those two miles as if it was the first two miles of a 10K on a sunny afternoon. When we came through the trees at the 23 mile aid station, Mo asked the first volunteer we saw if we made the cut off, he responded it was 4:20, and the cut off would be at 5:00, so we were fine....

For all practical purposes at that moment we had done it, we still had a few miles ahead of us, but hell that was only a 5K we could knock that out as a wheel borrow race!

Mo and I crossed the finish line just under 7 hours to cheers from family and friends AND the volunteers at the finish line singing Happy Birthday to me.

Watch the FINISH for yourself (Note it was a bit icey and we were on the .2 of the 26.2 miles...)

Crossing the finish...

The Weekend! Friday 12/5

Wow, where to start... I woke up Friday (12/5) to a bit of a hangover from Thursday's activities, but there was far too much adrenaline to worry about a hangover. Susan and I started the day with a breakfast feast at Hubbard Diner and then home in time for a house check, dog check, and running gear check. The MF (Majestic Flyer) captained by Gar (co-captained by Mo) pulled up promptly at 8:37, and then there was no turning back. The MF had been properly decked out with all the necessary 40 party paraphernalia (40 sucks suckers, beer sippy cup, various shot glasses...) all staged by my loving partner the previous night.

There was plenty of nervous energy to fill the air (all provided by yours' truly.) I had LOTS of well wishes through text messages through the RV ride down to IN. Most notably were the 15+ from Jan, and her favorite being "Did u hear snap,crackle,pop this morning & realize u were not eating cereal?"!

We arrived at the hotel in Bloomington IN, in good spirits and ready for spirits! We had time for a quick beverage and then off to the packet pick up. Much to my surprise, after giving my name to the packet person, he handed me my racing bib with the number 40 proudly displayed on it. AMAZING! Here I had turned forty on this day and I would have the race number 40 for the marathon. I'm still not sure the hoops Mo jumped through (I think there may have been GU exchanged for favors...) but I will not question the means, cause it was very cool.

It is worth noting, that I was not the only McCullough with a marathon race packet to pick up. Mary Bridget McCullough had also signed up for the race. Back when I first emailed folks on this topic I had gotten an email from Bridget and I quote "Most people would not pick a hilly/mountainous terrain for their first marathon." Hmm, guess the McCullough girls are NOT most people...

Safely back at the hotel the McCullough family arrived (Molly, Annie, Shawn, Dad, Bridget & Steve.) We left the MF nestled in the hotel parking lot, so it could get some rest for the big day ahead, but the McCulloughs and Fraleys headed off for carbo loading at the local Italian resturant. From this point on my better half took control of the event planning. We had a nice private room in the resturant where plenty of McCullough family stories were told, a few drinks were had, and a cake celebrating the run, my b-day and Bridget's, who turned FIFTY in October. The nights activities ended at a reasonable hour, so that the marathoners could get on to bed.

T-Day (Berbee Derby)

So, this posting is VERY delinquent, since most of you already know the end of the story, but I thought for prosperity I would post another pre-marthon moment...

The week before the marathon proved to be one of the most interesting. There is this thing called tapering, which allowed for all sorts of merriment making to celebrate my b-day week. Technically the tapering week "started" on Thanksgiving Day (11/27) which was the Berbee Derby (http://www.berbeederby.com/.) We polished off the 10K in 1:09:50 (11:15 pace.) Then it was off to watch football, eat turkey and partake in napping for the rest of the day!

As fate would have it the final weekend run would be what got me going back in June which is the trip from my house out around Pheasant Branch Conservatory (http://www.pheasantbranch.org/img/PBCmapLG.jpg) and back (~8 miles.) Back in June it about killed me. But with proper fueling (i.e. no Irish car bomb the night before) and having built up a few miles since, it was a relatively easy run.

The week included several shopping opportunities to make sure I had EVERYTHING I needed. I visited REI, Dicks Sporting Goods, Target... (just a few of my favorite stores.) There were to be a few ~5 mile runs (Mon, Tues and Wed) and starting Thursday would be rest. Tuesday's run got thwarted by a surprise B-day party which resorted in going to a drinking establishment. Who knew my running Master would also put me to shame with event planning! I knew nothing of the surprise party even though I saw Susan come into the office moments before. Although one lesson learned is when you put 40 candles on a small cake you risk FIRE. Note, no DBA's were harmed during this event!

The week's end came on Thursday for me with a short day at work, dinner with a few of the folks unable to attend the weekends event, and the highlight going to see a friend's band play in their first paying gig (http://www.myspace.com/ghosttowncouncil.)

All in all one hell of a week of celebrating and plenty of reasons to do so!

Ten Days And Counting... (Week 15)

Another week is in the books... Plenty of events and milestones both on and off the running trail were successfully achieved.

Saturday helped mark the end to the week with friends and much merriment. The Glick/Gast house hosted the final tailgate of the year and UW Football team actually won (they stunk this year... but the games were fun!)

Sunday Mo and I set out for Indain Lake and a goal of keeping me on my feet from ~9:30am-3:00pm. Note Indian Lake is the route that there is some unknown in exact mileage (see Week 9) but as I've been taught through this whole thing, it's not as much about mileage as the fact we went 5.5 hours, and six loops of the trail (2 more than we've ever done before.) It should also be noted it is now deer season, so a new addition to the running gear was a bright orange hat provided by Gar. Gun shots off in the distance are quite the distraction from you feet and legs hurting!

Try as she might, I have not taken Mo's lead to trip on the trail. Since this was the last run on the trails before the "big event" Mo took one last digger to show me proper tripping/landing form. But I really don't think she was into it, while she did have an audience of two other strangers, she was upright in short order, and barely scratched her knee, so not even picture worthy.

Week 14 (T-15Days/11Hours/36Minutes)

So, if you would have told me 4 months ago I would wake up on a Saturday morning at 5:00am, to run at 6:30 at 27 degrees, with 14mph winds, yeah, well, I think we all know what I would have said... NO THANKS! But that's not the case on Saturday 11/15, I got up, took the dogs for a walk and prepared for a long run... Keep in mind a long run 20 weeks ago was 3.5 miles as opposed to 3.1 miles.

Mo and I set out at 6:33 for our long run for the week. Time was short cause UW football was to start at 2:30pm, and in order to allow for proper football prep (shower, drive, drinking, burger) the run needed to wrap up a bit after 11:00am. Since I'm not one to be late for drinking and a burger I was good with 11:00am stop time. We started out Hwy 12 for the first leg of the run, wind to our backs (note this would make for an interesting return...) Made it out to the Missouri Tap and made the trip back with a stop at the Mobile Mart. The second leg included 1/2 of the Pheasant Branch Conservatory. I guess it's interesting statement in itself that an 18 mile run just included the normal milestones and landmarks:
- Out/back on two routes that used to be done independently and seen as an accomplishment.
- The quickest way to pee on the side of the road with out 1.) exposing yourself 2.) exposing yourself in the minimum amount of time, to avoid frost bite where you don't want it.
- Missouri Tap (note week 8)
- Mobile Mart: It is NOT easy to cross a four lane highway at 8:00 in the morning and not be considered a target.
- Stiff back legs. Seriously after running as much as I have, they are getting a little sore.
- Frozen Pop-Tarts. Honestly, they aren't have bad.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies at mile 13, come on that has to be a reason to run all by itself!

We rounded that Parmenter/Kenyon corner at 11:00 and moved right on through phase II and III of the day! Ok, I might have gotten an hour nap from 11:30-12:30, but I did play soccer until midnight the night before. With out skipping a beat we were at the UW football game for kick off (Phase II) and even found energy for after hour drinks at Claddagh (Phase III.) Ok, I realize for the youngen's in the crowd after hours is >2am, but after an 18 mile run, a Bloody Mary, 5 beers, a burger, 2 Jamison's and cheesy fries, 10:00pm is pretty darn late!

But in the end here's to the two significant others that love us and support this crazy activity:

Tyranena 1/2 Marathon (Week 13)

Well, it's the beginning of the end! This weekend marked a huge milestone, the Tyranena 1/2 marathon (http://www.tyranena.com/beerrun/website.htm) I know, I know, 13.1 miles what's the big deal, when last week we did >18?? Yeah, I don't know, it's just different dynamics you got:
1.) Running with a couple hundred folks that you don't know (ok, I knew 6 of them.)
2.) In 5 days we went from 70 degree weather down to 37, windy and rain/sleet/snow!
3.) There were t-shirts and awards involved!

The weekend was kicked off Friday night with a pasta feast, cooked by yours truly, and to my knowledge no one was hurt from the event! We had a house full of runners and birthday well wishers and associated partners. The b-day well wishers were for my wonderful partner who marked another year on 11/6 and who is putting up with all these running shenanigans. All in all the crowd was well behaved, the most notable beverage drank was a full 5 gallon jug of water!

Saturday, the day of the race, started with the normal pomp and circumstance of a Saturday, a dog walk and a trip to the grocery store. But driving to this Saturday's run would be in style, not only was this prep for the 12/6 marathon, it was also the dress rehearsal for the Majestic Flyer (MF), which is the support vehicle (RV owned/operated by the Fraleys) for the runners and non-runners at the marathon.

The MF arrived at 9am to collect Susan and I, with Mo at the helm. We arrived at Lake Mills, location of the Tyranena Brewery, in time for packet gathering, stretching, coffee making/drinking, two potty breaks, just in time carbo loading, attire deciding, and general revelry with our co-runners and supporters. At 11:30 we started, what would be for Mo and I a 2:39:36 (but who's counting) run. It was a pretty successful run, Mo didn't fall down, there were plenty of aid stations and port-a-johns. There was some precipitation, and the wind was a bit strong on some stretches, but it was good to know we can survive running in crappy weather.

I'd say the highlight was for ALL the time Mo and I have spent running, and although we were on a very wide open space, and the wind was at our back, Mo noted "Man, it smells like farts!" So, ok, maybe some of you reading this may not know me, but some certainly do, and certainly Mo has gotten acquainted with my 12 year old boy humor (as mom said: Katie you'd be perfect if you weren't so damn vulgar!) So come on, if I was right next to you and you smelled a foul odor, I'm definitely the first one to blame. Now, I'll give you in this situation, I had not started giggling (cause I was too focused on using my oxygen to survive) which is normally the dead give away. But yeah, it was me, and there's nothing like two grown women trying to run while giggling cause of a fart!

The last mile was tough, but Mo inspired me to keep running by threats of her singing. We came to the finish line to cheers of our follow coworker/runner Chris and his family. After a quick costume change in the MF we preceded to the beer tent for a beer and lasagna. Unfortunately due to the weeks events I was pooped! So the festivities were a bit short lived (so I'll definitely be working on my post-race tolerance!) The return trip in the MF got us safely home, and only took out a few curbs on those darn right hand turns...

All the gory details:
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=387&race_id=9728&type=result

25 Days, 12 Hours, and 48 Minutes until the Marathon!!

Renee, Wes, Mo, Katie, Chris, Kate and MF in the background

Mo (clapping/way too much energy), Katie (yellow), and Chris (back to us/finished the 1/2 an hour before...)